IBM algorithm predicts steampunk to be the fashion wave of the (retro) future

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IBM, not exactly a noted fashion industry icon or analyst, has predicted that steampunk will emerge as a major fashion trend in 2013. Based on analysis of over half a million posts on message boards, social media and news sites, and blogs, IBM expects steampunk to to “bubble up and take hold” of the retail industry.

According to IBM, the fashion industry will incorporate the steampunk genre into its clothing and jewelry, and options will be readily available from major fashion labels. IBM noted that from 2009 to 2012, mentions of the genre has increased by a factor of 11, and feels that within the next two years, the creation of steampunk products will shift from low abundance, expensive vendors to mass production, terrifying Etsy right down to its artsy core.

Using its Social Sentiment Index — a combination of natural language processing and advanced analytics that can discern between positive, negative, and neutral chatter — IBM has broken down its steampunk analysis into some interesting facts. It found that Twitter is the top social network for steampunk talk, and 33% of online steampunk discussions can be found on gaming sites. 63% of steampunk fashion talk is had by people under the age of 30, and 55% of social steampunk chatter comes from blogs.

We don’t know if steampunk will ever rise to the mainstream, but the conspirator in us wonders if IBM might be trying to set the trend so it can release some wooden, steam-powered tablets full of knobs.

For whenever IBM decides to analyze its next punk-suffixed trend, we’d like to be seen as having gotten in on the ground floor, so we’re going to quickly discuss a few punk sub0genres that we predict will become the next major fashion trend. If you’ve played Dishonored, you’re acutely aware of whalepunk, a style similar to steampunk, but focused on whale-based aesthetics. If you read Geek.com regularly, you might be aware of a telephone network that used barbed wire to connect users, which is a great representation of the under-recognized genre of ranchpunk. If you’re a very well-traveled patron of the internet, or only like music your friends don’t like, you also might be aware of seapunk, which cites the Sega game Ecco the Dolphin as a popular influence on the movement.

And finally, IBM’s steampunk infographic (probably not a phrase you ever expected to read)…